Hamilton County Nonprofit Awarded Grant to Expand Services to Victims of Family Violence, Sexual Assault
Prevail Inc. of Hamilton County, a group that focuses on advocacy and support services for victims of abuse and crime, has received a $210,903 grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) to improve services and provide more support to victims around the county.
The ICJI has awarded Prevail and 45 other nonprofits a total of nearly $3.5 million in federal grants to improve services for survivors of family violence and sexual assault. These grants were awarded through the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) program with American Rescue Plan funds.
“With this funding, we will be helping organizations provide critical care support to individuals who may be trying to escape from an abusive situation or were just victimized,” said Devon McDonald, ICJI Executive Director. “For us, it’s essential to have the resources in place to, not only prevent family violence, but also accommodate and support survivors in their time of need.”
Administered by ICJI, the FVPSA program is the primary federal funding stream dedicated to the support of emergency shelter and related assistance for victims of domestic violence and their dependents.
Last year, ICJI received supplemental funding through the American Rescue Plan to offer two new grants under FVPSA – one specifically designed to support survivors of sexual assault. Altogether, both grants are intended to help organizations offset certain costs associated with providing these critical services during the pandemic.
Funding will be used for the purchasing of technology to provide remote services, testing kits and cleaning supplies, employee retention and hiring, emergency preparedness, safety planning and more.
“The pandemic has changed how services are provided to victims,” said Kim Lambert, ICJI Victim Services Director. “Many organizations are now offering virtual care options, on top of maintaining a certain base level of in-person support. This funding will help ensure a continuity of services by covering some of those pandemic-related expenses.”
The grants were approved by the ICJI Board of Trustees in March and will be made available to organizations starting within the next couple of weeks.
Visit https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/INSTATE/2022/04/14/file_attachments/2132143/Family%20Violence%20Prevention%20and%20Services%20Act%20%28supplemental%20funding%29.pdf for a list of the award recipients.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) is the state planning agency for criminal justice, juvenile justice, traffic safety and victim services. ICJI is designated as the state administering agency for distribution of federal funds and as the state Statistical Analysis Center for research. ICJI is responsible for coordinating and collaborating with local, state and federal entities to identify, assess, plan, resource and evaluate new and emerging issues facing the criminal justice and public safety spectrum. Visit www.cji.in.gov to learn more about the agency.